The anecdote earned just a brief mention, but prompted concerned inquiries from zoo fans and reporters around the world, according to a Smithsonian Institution spokeswoman who contacted The Federal Eye Thursday.

Colleagues couldn't recall the manure incident, she said, but The Post archives show it occurred during the 21-day shutdown of 1995 and 1996:

"Lot E didn't have any cars, but it had piles of chunky elephant, rhino, hippo and giraffe manure," colleague David Montgomerywrote on Jan. 6, 1996. "That's when you know you got yourself a government shutdown. The manure usually is sent to a greenhouse operated by the Smithsonian Institution for composting, but during the shutdown, recycling hippo scat wasn't deemed essential."

• Happy Birthday Government Printing Office!: Today is the big 1-5-0 for the agency responsible for printing and selling government papers. Today is also the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's inauguration.

CIA:
• CIA agent sentenced on sexual assault conviction:Andrew Warren received a sentence nearly two years longer than prosecutors had recommended.

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT:
• Navy admiral recommends censures over lewd videos: The head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Adm. John Harvey Jr., also recommended that Capt. Owen Honorsundergo a hearing to show cause for why he should remain in the Navy.

• Court rules in favor of National Guard vet fired by Postal Service: A federal court on Feb. 28 ruled in favor of a veteran who was fired by the U.S. Postal Service after he had spent nearly six years on active National Guard duty.

TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT:
• U.S., Mexico agree to settle truck feud: The deal seeks to end a nearly 20-year ban on Mexican trucks crossing the U.S. border, a violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Inquiring minds want to know -- Will the custodial staff of the federal buildings adopt the zoo's plan so it can more easily rid the Capitol of the bull puckey that builds up daily on the GOP sides of the aisles in the upper and lower chambers?

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